As survivors of the Stoneman Douglas shooting packed the gallery of Florida’s statehouse last month to see how their legislators would vote on potential gun control regulation, the legislators had something else on their minds altogether. After deciding against debating a ban on assault weapons, less than an hour later the House passed a bill addressing a different threat to the state’s youth: pornography.

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Jesus Meets a Zen Mastertag:https:,2018:/forum.samharris.org/forum/viewthread/.708282018-03-09T19:00:03Z2018-03-09T19:09:22Zunsmoked
Jesus: (approaching the lone figure sitting by a campfire) You’re Yuanwu? Thomas said he met you last night and suggested I come and talk to you.

Yuanwu: I heard you saved a woman from getting stoned to death yesterday.

Jesus: An ugly scene. Poor woman.

Yuanwu: Well, you did the right thing. She’s okay?

Jesus: Yes, thanks to God. They all dropped their stones and dispersed. I saw her walking away with someone. Wasn’t you was it? Holding her hand?

Yuanwu: Me? No. Not my type.

Jesus: Guy had a beard like yours.

Yuanwu: No, I wasn’t there. Thomas told me about it.

Jesus: The guy had a black robe with a white cloverleaf symbol on it like yours.

Yuanwu: No, it wasn’t me. I have an alibi.

Jesus: Thomas said you came in a few days ago with that caravan from the East.

Yuanwu: Right. Silk traders. I’m just tagging along to see the world. Listen, it’s none of my business but Thomas said you brought a dead girl back to life. That’s not a good idea if you don’t mind my saying so.

Jesus: Oh, that. Heatstroke. I just put a wet cloth on her head. Her father was gnashing his teeth and telling everyone she was a goner. So the girl comes around and the story spreads like wildfire that I brought her back from the dead.

Yuanwu: Oh, one of those. Anyway, you want to nip that in the bud. Imagine the crowds with their dead relatives waiting for you in the next town . . . the wailing, the pleading, tugging on your clothes. Brrrr! I know a fellow, the Bird’s Nest Monk . . . People saw him walking on the beach at low tide . . . saw his reflection in the wet sand and thought he was walking on the water. They decided he was Ho Tai. Tore his robe to pieces, trying to get a talisman - a good luck charm. Felt sorry for him. Heavy-set fellow like Ho Tai. Listen, would you like a nip of saki?

Jesus: (sitting down by the fire) What is it?

Yuanwu: Rice wine. And look, a taste of sashimi? Thomas traded me a fish for my fan. He liked the painting on it - Mount Fuji with a cherry tree in bloom.

Jesus: Okay. Just a nip. No on the sashimi. Have any more fans? I’ve got an aureus with Tiberius on it.

The study, published today in Science, looked at the trajectories of more than 100,000 news stories, independently verified or proven false, as they spread (or failed to) on Twitter. The conclusion, as summarized in the abstract: “Falsehood diffused farther, faster, deeper, and more broadly than the truth in all categories of information.”

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Something men can’t do (it’s science)tag:https:,2018:/forum.samharris.org/forum/viewthread/.708162018-03-06T20:25:00Z1970-01-01T00:00:00ZJan_CANSomething men can’t do – go ahead and try!

This isn’t new – I saw this first when a young teen and my family had great fun testing it out.(It’s now old enough that some of you may not have seen it.)

It’s best if there is at least one girl or woman present to laugh at the man as he tries it out.

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Unsmoked preachestag:https:,2018:/forum.samharris.org/forum/viewthread/.708132018-03-04T22:11:42Z1970-01-01T00:00:00ZEN
But it’s just Zen, so I guess it doesn’t count.
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Happy Texas Independence Daytag:https:,2018:/forum.samharris.org/forum/viewthread/.708042018-03-02T18:48:08Z1970-01-01T00:00:00ZEN
On March 2, 1836, Texas declared its independence from Mexico - leaders met at a little town called Washington on the Brazos and made the declaration. It then became The Republic of Texas until it joined the USA in 1845. Four days later, on March 6, the Alamo fell to Santa Anna. On April 21, 1836, Sam Houston’s forces defeated Santa Anna’s army at San Jacinto, securing the Republic’s freedom. Happy Texas Independence Day!
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You’re all ugly.tag:https:,2018:/forum.samharris.org/forum/viewthread/.708032018-03-02T15:31:37Z1970-01-01T00:00:00ZJb8989
Carry on.
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A Canadian Road Triptag:https:,2018:/forum.samharris.org/forum/viewthread/.707712018-02-21T22:56:05Z1970-01-01T00:00:00ZEN
This August my wife and I are planning a whirlwind road trip in NY, Quebec and Ontario. We land in Buffalo and spend the first night at Niagra Falls on the Canadian side. Then up to Ottawa for one night. Then on to Quebec City for 2 nights. Then down to Montreal for 2 nights. Then the last night in Toronto. One week - lots of driving (my kind of vacation).

Canadians, I have a good idea of what I want to do, but do you have any suggestions in any of these cities or along the road? Anything that is “must see”?